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Categories: Music & DVD's, Vinyl Records [Edit]
Neighborhood: University DistrictMon-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Yes, this is a great record store. The selection is overwhelming, the staff knows what they're talking about, and the used stuff is both cheap and well organized. They're friendly and they play good music.
The first time I walked into Used Kids, I felt like I'd discovered a secret. Also, I have never left Used Kids without buying something, usually something I didn't even realize I was looking for.
(One small note: If you're ever in Cincinnati, make sure you check out Shake It Records. It's even better, although not by much.)
Used Kids had soooo much more personality when it was underground, located beneath the current home of the Pita Pit and a revolving restaurant next door. Back then there was one store for vinyl and one store for CDs. The record side was always less populated than the CD side which was nice when you were spending hours flipping through records.
Then the place caught fire and moved to the previous home of World Records. It's still the best record store in Columbus, just a lot less grungy and dingy, which I liked about the old digs. Record shopping, for me, is all about the hunt so I have no idea as to the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. They certainly don't approach you unless you ask for help.
I find it incredibly hilarious that one reviewer, when speaking about service, stated she prefers Johnny Go's to Used Kids. Clearly, she's never met Johnny Go on her visits there. He's notoriously one of the biggest assholes in all of Columbus. I've seen him literally following people out the door berating them as they leave at least a handful of times (don't take that as meaning I don't like the guy or place, he's just seriously KNOWN for his bad attitude). But I digress...
As others mentioned, the $3/5 CD bins are a great place to find some selections you've been hunting down. Unlike other stores, they aren't necessarily overstocked with copies of Metallica's Reload album. You can find seriously good offerings in here if you take the time.
Several years ago an ex stabbed my record player to death and I haven't been as frequent a record buyer since, but the last few times I browsed here I didn't find the selection as good as in the past. Of course, the selection is always changing at a used store so that's to be expected from time to time. The 7" and 45 section was also much larger before it changed locations.
Don't overlook the DVDs! You can find some good stuff here as well! Also of note: while they have no online catalogue, they do sell some rarer items on eBay and have a website at http://www.usedkids.com.
This place succeeds where very few record stores do. It has the slightly dingy feel that a record store should, while not being all out creepy. It also has an excellent selection and great rotation. I find the best way to locate new music is to walk in and tell the person working there what you like and ask for suggestions.
I'm the girl who once in a while comes and practically buys the whole world music section.
I've been going to Used Kids off and on for about 20 years. It is the best record store in C-bus, and has been for a long time. It's unreal to me that they just seem to get better over time. The staff are consistantly good, and I like being surprised by random DJ's and bands playing there once in awhile. And the records. Oh, the records. I am still finding vinyl there that blows my mind. Used. And cheap. Yay.
Here's the thing about Used Kids. You will never find such a great selection of records at such low prices. A really good example would be their selection of used Beatles LPs. While many stores will slap a $20, $30 or even $40 price tag on any Beatles vinyl regardless of its rarity or condition, Used Kids is much more reasonable. For a relatively easy-to-find album like a '70s repress of "A Hard Day's Night," Used Kids only wanted eight bucks. Seriously. Most stores would have charged at least twice that.
They have a great used CD selection to boot.
Caveat: The $1 bins can be a bit daunting. The records are in no particular order!
Back to Used Kids today and yet another wonderful shopping experience. Neil Young, Mother Love Bone, Minus the Bear, and Beck for $12. Beat that! :-)
Per usual, great soundtrack while shopping (Mountain Goats,) and a staff that loves to chat the local scene. Most hilarious aspect of the trip? The free Box at the door is now all mainstream country western discs!
Love it.
I begun going to used Kids when I was in undergrad at OSU in the late 90s. Back then, the store was… Read more »
In my perpetual quest for the penultimate record store, I often take the Used Kids for granted. I've searched high and low for a store that offers a better selection of used vinyl and cd's at better prices, and with the exception of the Amoeba franchise in California, nothing has come even remotely close.
Columbus has it's fair share of snooty record geeks, so I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and courteous the staff here is. If they have any judgment about your questionable purchases, they do an excellent job of keeping it to themselves. In other words, this is not the movie "High fidelity"- feel free to stock up on derivative emo or powerpop albums until your heart's content.
As with anywhere that specializes in used wares, the selection here is mercurial and hard to pin down on any given day. Some visits will yield lost gems by the armful, while others will leave your frustrated and drained from rifling through a loosely organized pile of chaff that had no business being printed in the first place. One thing you can always count on is the quantity- for better or worse, Used Kids has more product than you'll find anywhere else east of the Mississippi.
On my first visit, I was jarred with the above-average prices (generally $7 or $9 for the most relevant titles) of most of the better albums the store had to offer, but after a few visits which yielded discounted versions of almost brand-new music, I became a true disciple of the Used Kids way of life. Instead of stocking their shelves with a cache of useless dollar bin filler like Chumbawamba and Ace of Bass, the staff at Used Kids only deals in albums that they would actually think of listening to themselves. This concept may come off as pretentious, but I'm a firm believer that people in search of Kenny Loggins' entire catalog should be sent elsewhere and left to their own devices. Lord knows we don't take kindly to yacht rock connoisseurs in this fair city.
OK, I know it looks like I too am jumping on the Used Kids bandwagon... and I don't F'n care. This is what a used record store should be. I love the whole feel of the place, especially when you used to walk into a graffiti and sticker invested jail-cell like entrance. It still has a bit of that feel when you are coming up the stairs but it is a shame that the cleaning up of campus High St. has forced itself upon an another OSU icon.
Tons of great music. Everything you never knew you wanted, and cheap. $20 can take you far in here, friend. The staff is awesome. If you want help they got you, but otherwise they just hang out and play good music.
Not bad at all. Lots of Jazz titles however no classical selection at all. They ought to clear out a god deal of their overwhelmingly large and unkempt $1 bins and set up some more sections. Prices for choice finds are high. For example: A used copy of 'Atom Heart Mother' (an older obscure Pink Floyd record) in only decent condition here was $22. I bought a copy of 'The Wall' in great condition from a very well kept store in my home city of Vancouver, Canada (Zulu on W 4th) for about $15 . Go figure. I didn't see any listening stations, which are invaluable when you are browsing old records and want to check something out before you buy it.
Great place to find cheap used CDs. The $5 racks on the wall and the $3 bins in the middle are overflowing with anything and everything. The organization is very ROUGHLY alphabetical within those sections -- the As are all together, the Bs are together, etc. After that, it's all a big clutter. Best results come from taking the time to peruse the whole section, end-to-end, but that can take awhile. If you're looking for something in particular, just make sure to check the whole letter section as well as the rack before & after, just in case someone else was browsing & got lazy about putting things back.
They also have more expensive used discs to round-out the selection - the $6-$9 range usually. The value's not as good, but if you're really searching for something, check here too.
For new stuff, the selection is TEENY. There are a lot of better options for new stuff, only things within a very particular niche ("indie") and more popular new releases can be found. The local artist selection is OK - much better than places which just don't HAVE one at least. But really, Used Kids is all about the USED stuff. It's in the name, man.
What they REALLY need is an online (or at least electronic & in-store) database of their stock to make finding out if they HAVE something a lot easier, even if it wouldn't necessarily locate it for you.
I've been reflecting on the issue and have decided that Used Kids is my favorite record store in Columbus. Often over the years they've just happened to have something in stock that i wanted and couldn't find elsewhere or that i didn't know existed and which i immediately purchased once i found it there. Both their used vinyl and used CD selection are the tastiest around. And the help is nice.
Still alive! I tried to pawn off my vinyl copy of "Born in the USA" when I was 10 years old (1985). They gave me a quarter!
The upstairs used to be all new records & CDs, I believe it was named New Kids (before the boy band).
This place used to be my bread and butter for vinyl. Listening stations and everything. Tons of old stuff. Haven't been there in quite some time, but I can't go in that place with out spending $75 lol. You have to look but there are still some really old classics. It reminds me of some Brooklyn record stores...Death virgin records and all other megastores
-s
If you like the charmingly old & grungy record store and you have lots of time to kill, this is the best place to be. I am an avid music fan and Used Kids has nurtured that passion within me since I've started perusing it's aisles since 1990.
Home is where the music is! So, go there for on your lunch break and you can go back to work happy and you may just hear something new.
Happy Used Kidsing!
People talk about how fantastic this store is because somehow they think it ups their indie cred. The place is all right, but the organization of this place utterly confounds me. If you just want to rifle about for hours, it's all right, but god forbid if you're looking for something specific. The people working at this place are generally surly and unhelpful. I don't know. I'd much rather just go to Johnny Go's down the street.
Before I even lived in Columbus, this was the one place I had to go when I was in town. I use rhapsody at work (10 hours a day, 7 days a week) so I enjoy the absence of music at other times. Thus, I don't really buy music any longer but I have great memories of this record store and if you do buy music you should do it here.
WOW, I recently moved here from Seattle and was worried that there wouldn't be a great record/music store. No more worries, I've found it. I am $70.00 poorer from my first visit, but it could have been worst. The best music store in Columbus, hands down.
Dollar Land always cheers me up, but you can't visit it too often or it's same -ol same ol. The 3 dollar CD bins used to over-flow but have since thinned out considerably. Still, I hardly ever leave here without a box-load of stuff. I usually have to lug my finds a few blocks because the campus area parking sucks, and it's impossible to get through everything in the amount of time you have on a parking meter. The one place in Columbus every record lover should visit (though Lost Weekend has become a close second!!!)
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Category: Music & DVD's
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In a city full of options, my schedule prevents me…
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